Hasbro posts 1Q profit on girls division sales, franchise brands

Toy and game maker Hasbro Inc. posted earnings of $32.1 million, or 24 cents per diluted share, during the first quarter of 2014, reversing the net loss of $6.7 million, or 5 cents per diluted share, reported during the same period last year. More

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Hasbro posts 1Q profit on girls division sales, franchise brands

HASBRO INC., the Pawtucket-based toy manufacturer, saw its net revenue rise 2.4 percent in the first quarter to $679.5 million compared with $663.7 million during the same period last year, driven primarily by a 20.8 percent rise in girls segment revenue.

PAWTUCKET – Toy and game maker Hasbro Inc. posted earnings of $32.1 million, or 24 cents per diluted share, during the first quarter of 2014, reversing the net loss of $6.7 million, or 5 cents per diluted share, reported during the same period last year.

Net revenue also increased for the three months ended March 30, rising 2.4 percent to $679.5 million from $663.7 million in the first quarter of 2013.

The revenue growth was driven primarily by a 20.8 percent increase in girls segment revenue, which totaled $138.7 million in the first quarter this year compared with $114.8 million during the same period the year prior, reflecting a broader trend of growth in the girls division. For the full year of 2013, girls segment revenue climbed to $1 billion, a record high and the first time girls product sales exceeded $1 billion in the history of the company.

Boys segment revenue improved less dramatically in the first quarter of 2014, rising to $247.8 million from $242.8 million during the same three-month period in 2013, an increase of 2.1 percent. Hasbro’s preschool and games segments each posted a decline in quarterly revenue of roughly 4 percent.

“Our first-quarter results reflect continued strong performance across several key initiatives, including Hasbro franchise brands, emerging markets, and the entertainment and licensing segment,” said Brian Goldner, president and CEO of Hasbro, in the earnings report. “Growth in both revenues and operating profit for the first quarter despite a later Easter this year and ahead of our major theatrical launches speaks to the strength of the brand innovation we are delivering to consumers globally.”

The company’s entertainment and licensing segment saw revenue increase 13.3 percent in the first quarter to $34.9 million, compared with $30.8 million during the same period last year. This summer, Hasbro Studios has planned the theatrical release of “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” the fourth installment of the live-action film series based on Hasbro’s Transformers toy franchise.

In terms of Hasbro’s geographic segments, first-quarter revenue in the U.S. and Canada fell 1.3 percent to $337.7 million from $342.1 million a year before. Internationally, net revenue for the toy company rose 5.4 percent to $305.5 million in the first quarter from $289.8 million in 2013.

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